Back in 2008, Chef and restaurateur Philip Guardione opened Piccola Cucina and ushered authentic Italian cuisine to Soho via a 300-square-foot enoteca that lived up to its name. Now, the Piccola Cucina Group is expanding to eight locations worldwide by the end of the year – including five ristoranti in New York.
Guardione has officially re-opened his beloved Soho concept, Piccola Cucina Osteria. Now located in a renovated, ample space at 196 Spring Street, the 50-seat restaurant will begin welcoming diners into its new 900-square-foot destination (right next door to the former osteria).
Piccola Cucina Osteria’s return marks a sentimental milestone for Guardione: after more than 15 years crafting menus that span the totality of Italy’s boot, he has chosen to celebrate the cuisine and wines of his native Etna.
“Thanks to Stanley Tucci and Mike White (White Lotus), Americans are taking more of an interest in Sicilian cuisine and wine. This feels like the right time to spotlight nostalgic nonna plates of my childhood,” stated Guardione.
The revamped menu features Sicilian deep cuts like the rustic pane cunzato, toasted bread topped with extra virgin olive oil, oregano, primo sale cheese, anchovies, and cherry tomato purée; and primi pastas with prawns sourced from Mazara. For dessert, Guardione has also introduced granita di mandorle, a sweet, Sicilian shaved ice made with almonds from Noto. The granita will be prepared daily in-house, accompanied by a traditional brioche col tuppo. Piccola Cucina will also serve Sicilian classics like truly authentic Sicilian cannoli and arancini.
“Americans now know gelato, but granita still remains elusive on stateside menus,” added Guardione. “I’m excited to give our diners a brand new experience they can’t really find anywhere outside of Sicily.”
2025 marks a period of growth for the Piccola Cucina brand. In addition to Osteria’s evolution, the original 196 Spring Street location will reopen as Piccola Cucina Enoteca e Bacaro, a dedicated wine bar curated by sommelier Alfio Scrivano, inspired by Piccola Cucina’s original concept. Drawing from Piccola Cucina’s encyclopedic, 4,000-bottle cellar, the bottle list will focus exclusively on Sicilian labels, including rare finds from Etna Sud, Etna Nord, Messina, and Ragusa — making it the city’s most comprehensive collection of Sicilian wine. The food menu will offer grigliata small plates.
Born in Catania, Guardione split his upbringing between Sicily and his father’s home base of Switzerland. He went on to apprentice in prestigious kitchens as a teenager before landing at the Four Seasons Milan, where he rose to Executive Chef. A short trip to Manhattan convinced Guardione – bewitched by the city’s energy and vitality – to immigrate stateside. He debuted Piccola Cucina Enoteca in 2008, whose immediate success paved the way for expansion. Soho’s Piccola Cucina Osteria, Piccola Cucina Estiatorio, and Piccola Cucina Uptown soon followed. Across the Atlantic, he inaugurated Piccola Cucina Ibiza in 2017, and a year later, Piccola Cucina Ox Pasture in Montana. In 2024, the brand debuted its first Brooklyn location, Piccola Cucina Casa, in the Boerum Hill neighborhood.
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